Not all love stories start with a magical spark and that's exactly what makes this couples' story perfect. When this bride brushed off a guy in a NYC restaurant, she didn't know he would eventually steal her heart and become her husband! With a romantic cathedral ceremony followed by an elegant reception at the iconic Rainbow Room, this wedding was a picture-perfect celebration of love complete with dreamy florals crafted by Amaryllis. Glance over the entire day here, all captured flawlessly by Charlotte Jenks Lewis!

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From the bride... Clay and I met in 2011 at a trendy restaurant in TriBeCa where I was working as a hostess. For the record, that first magical moment was actually a magical rejection. This restaurant was very popular among single men; as a result of that, I had ample opportunity to learn and master my “brush off” techniques. Little did I know that on this particular night, politely brushing off a tall, eager, charismatic, young man named Clay, would result in him falling madly in love with me. So much so, that the following night Clay headed back to the same restaurant, to try his luck with me again; and the rest is history.

Fast forward to 2015, when we were on a family trip in Barbados. Everyone knew he was going to propose on the trip except me. I had no idea. I actually got a manicure the day before choosing neon orange as my nail color. Not perfect for those first ring pictures! Clay proposed while we watched the sunrise over the ocean and said all the words every girl dreams of hearing. Everything about it was beautiful.

We opted for an October wedding as we were both hoping for a brisk day which is exactly what we got. We looked into many venues then someone suggested checking out The Rainbow Room and there was no turning back after that. As a little girl I dreamed of having a black tie wedding and always admired the beauty of The Rainbow Room from afar. I am from a small town in Maryland so it was very important to have some hometown influences. Enter our florist for a touch of home, Amaryllis out of Washington DC. The extremely talented geniuses behind Amaryllis happen live in my hometown! The flowers for the wedding were actually driven up to New York City. Some were even grown on their Maryland Farm. Before I get into all the details I have to first say that our day wouldn't have been as remarkable without the professionalism of our vendors. Our photographer, Charlotte Jenks Lewis, who came highly recommended. I understand why now. She is effortlessly amazing at what she does. She captures the emotion of every moment. Our videographer, Shutter and Sound NYC, exceeding all expectations. We knew they were great but we were blown away by our video.

We booked the same Band that Clay's sister used for her wedding, Central Park Orchestra. I have to admit that our friends and family like to dance to the radio but multiple people told us it was the best band at a wedding ever. John Benke, associate director of special events at the Rainbow Room, made everything easy and seamless for us. We got married at Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Soho. It was a traditional Catholic ceremony. Clay and I didn't want to see each other beforehand. As much as everyone tried to talk us out of it, we held our ground. Nothing compares to that moment when you see each other for the first time. Clay wore his custom Against Nature tuxedo and I wore Lihi Hod. The bridesmaids wore Merlot colored dresses from David's Bridal and the groomsman wore tuxedos from The Black Tux.

The night was perfectly magical for us. You try so hard not to miss a moment but it goes by so fast. The only moment of panic? The morning after, when I thought I had lost my "borrowed" family heirloom diamond earrings! Honeymoon advice... Two weeks in Italy, of course.